Clean Air

Protecting and enhancing air quality is an ongoing priority for cooperatives. After all, they live, work and breathe the air in these very same communities each day. That’s why cooperatives support reducing pollution through common sense efforts that will enable utilities to meet the demand for electricity, protect health and the environment while ensuring reliable and affordable power.

Pollution controls were installed as part of the original construction of the many cooperative facilities built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Thus, these plants started operating with much lower emissions than many of their peers. And since the Clean Air Act was amended in 1990, cooperatives have further reduced their sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by nearly 65 percent nationwide. Implementing these controls also has achieved reductions in numerous other air pollutants. NRECA anticipates regulatory and voluntary efforts will build on these impressive results.

NRECA supports federal legislation that (1) establishes a non-hazardous framework for regulating CCR waste and (2) gives states the responsibility for administering such regulations pursuant to minimum federal criteria.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards

The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards for five criteria pollutants to protect human health and the environment and to review those standards every five years.

States with areas that exceed the standards enact plans to reduce emissions to appropriate levels. The fine particulates standard affects co-ops the most and remediation plans often lead to expensive modifications and ongoing monitoring and maintenance costs.

Where We Stand

NRECA believes EPA and states should develop a balanced and apportioned interstate trading program as a primary mechanism to achieve more cost effective compliance with NAAQS. Within nonattainment areas, cost-effective controls should be applied equitably based upon emission contributions from various sources. For PM2.5 we recommend EPA determine the constituent within the PM2.5 that drives adverse health effects before further increasing the stringency of the current, protective standard.

Regional Haze

The Clean Air Act authorized the EPA to set requirements to improve visibility and reduce regional haze at national parks and wilderness areas across the country. The EPA’s requirements will affect most co-op generation units, forcing substantial and expensive retrofitting.

Where We Stand

NRECA supports a state-led, case-by-case approach that allows flexibility written in EPA’s regulation and guidance based on individual unit’s age, size, location and equipment. NRECA believes EPA consistently undermines the flexibility afforded the states to establish appropriate control levels by imposing their own one size fits all preference.

Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The EPA construes their authority to regulate greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) based on the result of a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The currently proposed regulation establishes an unachievable CO2 emission level for coal-fired units. EPA has yet to finalize this proposal, or initiate a proposal for existing units.

Where We Stand

NRECA believes the Clean Air Act was never intended, and should not be used, to regulate stationary source greenhouse gas emissions such as CO2. The unique regulatory framework EPA is using to develop greenhouse gas requirements in no small way contributes to their challenge in developing a regulation that is either reasonable or achievable.

Air Pollution that Crosses State Lines

The 1990 Clean Air Act made states responsible for emissions that significantly contribute to down-wind states nonattainment with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The law also allows impacted states to sue upwind states to take appropriate action if they fail to reduce emissions contributing to the downwind state’s nonattainment status.

EPA has made two failed attempts to write sweeping regulations to address interstate transport. In both instances, Federal courts overruled the EPA on 1) the Clean Air Interstate Rule overreached by establishing emission limits without regard for cost effective reductions and 2) the Cross State Air Pollution Rule because in addition to essentially replicating the emission limitation problems of the CAIR rule, it unnecessarily forced federal plans without offering the legally required opportunity for states to develop and implement reduction plans.

Where We Stand

NRECA supports a state-driven initiative the fairly addresses interstate contributions, but does not impose additional burdens for upwind sources to address downwind states failure to tackle their pollution problems.

Regulation of Utility Mercury and Air Toxics Emissions

In 2000, EPA reversed their position regarding the need to regulate coal and oil-fired electric generation emissions as hazardous and began drafting requirements.

After years of litigation, EPA promulgated a final rule in 2012 known as the Utility Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (UMATS) which require significant investment in new technology. This regulation has long lasting implications for co-ops. The MACT standards are extremely stringent, high cost and even EPA couldn’t claim significant cost-benefit from the expected reduction of the targeted air toxics. As with NAAQS requirements, air toxic standards are required to undergo periodic review, making it likely that they will become more even stringent over time.

Where We Stand

Because they do not provide a reasonable cost-benefit for the targeted air toxics, NRECA opposed the final regulations and is in litigation with EPA. However, the UMATS rule is in full force and effect for current electric generation with compliance required by 2015and unit-by-unit MACT controls are being installed. Regulations addressing new construction and startup, shutdown and malfunction conditions have not been finalized.